Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam, 1989. Stumbled out of the closet after 40 years of repression. This blog is dedicated to that day. Original photography, New York, men, random thoughts.

RANDOM STUFF

06/15/2013

The Catholic Church habitually challenges the notion of moral relativism, the notion that what is morally right or wrong can vary across different peoples and cultures. The Church insists that moral standards are universal. The tragic relationship between routine contraception, infant mortality, maternal mortality and sexually transmitted diseases is a challenging and always frustrating example of this debate.

And we are today faced with an historic moral and ethical question surrounding the growing global rage over Edward Snowden. Both Democrats and Republicans alike are calling Mr. Snowden a traitor. But the United States has repeatedly condemned and even executed functionaries who engaged in immoral violations of human rights despite the arguement that they were only following orders. Mr. Snowden appears to have put the universal human right of privacy and international law above "following orders."

On December 10, 1948, under the passionate leadership of the United States, the United Nations adopted The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I quote from this iconic document:

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 12 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as authored by The United States of America:

"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks."

Is the United States now stating that "Universal" is "relative"? Is the universal human right of privacy relative to different situations? Is an invasion of privacy a crime for the Chinese but a national security imperative for the Americans?

06/11/2013

The lesson of Edward Snowden is one that American students of history will puzzle over for many years if not decades. From the perspective of freedom-loving America the intrusive surveillance of civilian populations in Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany to defend against enemies of the State, stands as one of history's greatest crimes against humanity; an appaling violation of human rights that remains an ugly and bloody stain on the human story. And yet in real numbers and extent, the current degree of surveillance in place by our governmemnt of millions upon millions of civilians dwarfs anything that Stalin or Hitler could have ever imagined or even organized.

The difference between Stalin, Hitler, Bush and Obama, of course, is a belief that our government is benign and accountable. But we would be wrong to ignore the grotesque fact that our benign and accountable government has put the tools of fascism and totalitarianism in place on a scale never before imagined possible in human history--and, until now, without our knowledge.

Jefferson understood that freedom and democracy depended entirely on the accountability of government. In the words of Lincoln, for the people, by the people and of the people. Diane Feinstein is calling Snowden a traitor. I don't think Jefferson or Lincoln would agree.

05/26/2013

The relentless rage in France over marriage equality deserves a much broader conversation than just gay rights. After all, the last global crisis in Christian unity was also precipitated by a furious disagreement over marriage. There is likely much to learn from this parallel. Oddly, we rarely discuss that profound parallel. I suggest that this is because the truth of marriage equality is too unnerving to face head on.

In both cases, King Henry and Anne or Sir Elton and David, the issue, of course, has nothing to do with marriage or sexual orientation.

Henry's decision to redefine the tradition of Christian marriage in the name of love, politics and human rights must contain lessons for today.

When Henry divorced Catherine in 1533, he destabilized an ancient tradition of forging mostly unshakeable political, financial and dynastic alliances through the "divine" union of man and woman.

From that divine and supposed eternal contract between two would come one, mostly in the form of a male heir. Catholic marriage united nations and ended wars, under centralized Roman rule called divine but obviously man-made.

05/24/2013

In a New York political environment pervasively crippled and colored by corruption and lies, I'm starting to think that Anthony Weiner might just come off as something quite refreshing and exciting: an honest, candid and smart politician who cares about what I care about. Yup, the dude got horny and did some thinking with his penis. If that's a crime, who among us wouldn't be incarcerated by now? Yup, he tried to keep his stupid sexting a secret from his wife when some unethical asshole ratted him out to the media. Big fucking deal. I listened to him on yesterday's campaign trail. His brilliant and talented wife is behind him. He's got the Hillary circle vibe. His wife is a progressive Muslim. And unlike all the other candidates, including my other favorite, Ms. Quinn, he ain't boring. Not at all. After all the craziness, Weiner could very well win and we might all be the better for it.

05/17/2013

Many people think that Alexander Graham Bell's first words spoken into his brilliant invention were, "Mr. Watson, can you hear me?" Actually, his first words were astonishingly prophetic. "Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you." Surely, Mr. Bell could not have imagined that eventually the most popular use of his telephone would be men sharing half-naked photographs of themselves with complete strangers. I wonder what Mr. Watson looked like shirtless.

05/16/2013

I think bigots should have the right to hate and shun whoever they damn please, but I don't think they should have the right to call themselves Christians. It should be like a driver's license. You have to pass a test and establish that you're not a threat to yourself or others. Surely Christianity can set some standards for itself?

04/29/2013

I sometimes wonder if the new "digital generation" will be the last generation to enjoy freedom and democracy in America as it tosses away privacy in exchange for high tech gadgetry. We don't encourage nuclear weapons because of their capacity for mass murder and mass destruction. We shouldn't encourage efficient thought monitoring because of its capacity for mass control. Radiation has a place in energy and medicine; we've learned to limit its use. We must do the same with brain monitoring.

04/26/2013

One of my greatest pleasures in life is making people laugh--even if I'm the punch line. Without going into details, over the last couple of weeks I've been dealing with a series of tragic events involving a number of people close to me. We are now at a point where all I have to do is pick up the phone and say "How are you doing today?" Laughter ensues. Sometimes even belly laughs. I've always rather enjoyed treading that very fine line between tragedy and comedy.